So It's been around a  week since 2017 is over... In this post, you will see some of the highlights in my growth as an artist. And I've decided to see what progress I have, what I've improved and how. The last year was the most productive for me as an artist I've got my first Wacom tablet(thanks to my teacher @alexlalove) I've learned a bit about colors, tons of practice on traditional and digital painting, I did 2 expositions, even managed to sell a couple of prints and paintings.  This year i have to beat that, So Let's go, shall we? :D

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX56J4R2Bv6BbVoUHPEiZWvFJML9x1fBdwWLNsaQ7D6dt/image.png)

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<center> **The Defiler**
This piece was done when I was really just fooling around, Not taking the digital art seriously. I did 5 versions of it cause i didn't know how to manage the colors, the detailing was really fun cause that's kind of my thing. So, yes this is my first finished painting for 2017
![the first defiler v5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQ5MMkRU9oCof8x24yX5hcmFobEebo6F8kdo3wid5HfJA/the%20first%20defiler%20v5.jpg)

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**Octavean**
You might have seen this one recently, this was actually started at the end of 2016, but i finished it at the beginning of June. My teacher told me that i should finish it digitally, but i had no idea how, i barely managed to finish the traditional version. But now I have what i need to do that. YES! :D![the first banshee.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQRbnDzXHnAEMAgXfACdyD181SFvM7XThqUdHfo22XPDw/the%20first%20banshee.jpg)

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**The Ancient one**
With this one i really got my game up, I've learned how to play with the light and the reflections, how the simple details can create the feeling of complexity, how to do proper texturing for a finished look. This is actually one of the prints that I sold.![ancient one Gray.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmexuksQsKyJfHm2RcV63orsRa4mdDSN3oR5R7AsgnpD24/ancient%20one%20Gray.jpg)

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**The Mask**
Oh... I've almost forgot about this one, this was actually a tattoo design. Most of the time I paint to amuse myself. And this was a really hard project for me cause me and the client had a different vision of how this thing should look like. At the end, he won. I needed the money... Lessons learned I guess
 ![the mask v3 fin.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmP9R6KkktxnepdSuomHkT4wTyDmonvQAsfogdLTAnDN5b/the%20mask%20v3%20fin.jpg)

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**The Forgotten one**
One of my favorite paintings! At first, i did just the grayscale... I was so worried, but i wanted to be fully colored. I've done some research and one of the guys that i look to, ArtGerm was doing a live stream on facebook. He was showing how he is doing the coloring of his characters in photoshop... Just what I needed at the moment. I've adopted his method of using gradient maps and overpainting them. I was so hyped, i had 6 versions by the end of the night.
![Tao Lei colorgrind.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdeKWcJZN5qGkKFdBKLv493PefrHhEBZuytrUYRvmucPv/Tao%20Lei%20colorgrind.jpg)

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**Self portrait study**
I needed a face for a character concept, and what should I use... My ugly face? Why not mate? I know my face and my features, so it was an easy task, with that on hand I had more time detailing and playing around testing. I remember when my editor saw me painting myself, she said to me- don't you think that you're overdoing it? ![portrait study.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQm9G7jefBSfkktY4NfnMwk1iKDwGaBriu8TqH6JZK11H/portrait%20study.jpg)

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**The Silver one**
Almost all of my stuff were dark, most of them even too dark. So I wanted something different, something sexy and appealing. The hardest part of this one was to figure out how the light should look like when you see it thru hair.![the silver lady prepredone steemit.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaZJnwpf6wmYTjoTcb4Le8n6AW9QaNxcSGyWXQ3rfTqvu/the%20silver%20lady%20prepredone%20steemit.jpg)

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**Run The Jewels**
I had really hard time doing this project. With all the machines that I've been doing, I forgot what anatomy was, how the human skin should look like. So the grind was real. First I've finished Killer Mike (the dude on the left) cause his beard was really interesting, I tryed to do it like 6 times. But his face... God I love his face!
For El-Producto (the dude on the right) I was really straightforward. I wanted something to finish it properly. and then i've heard the phrase **STAY GOLD** while listening to their album. So gold it is.![RTJ-Recovered.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPo73mXysjfdKBTnXmJWDVJgjMhbG2vRJbafdqVfxd19H/RTJ-Recovered.jpg)

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**The Soldier**
When I started this piece, I wanted to challenge myself. So, I did the linework and the shading with horizontal lines only (long time no sunshine for me). But when i finished it, i could not leave it like that, just on the paper, i've scanned it, pentool selection in photoshop, copy/paste a couple of times, some greenish smoke, cables hanging. And one that's off the grid. ![multy.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRQFsXjutjrJiWTD8Y4RZW1yyjiSdqSKSW4APcWtDe5WY/multy.jpg)

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**The Assembly**
Oh... Where should I start with this one? I had the idea even before the first semester of the year had finished. But I had so much to do, so I've started it in the middle of September (i guess).  I was chatting with a friend of mine while painting, with a shared screen. And she noticed that I was rendering 1 cable for like 15 minutes. I developed a technique for quick cable rendering. I wanted it to be as complex as I could make it be. So I took all the free time that I had and invested it into rendering. The problem is I rarely use references for anything. But this time I had to. But, I could not find one for the lady on the operation table... I've banged my head against a wall for a long time and now i see my mistakes. Still one of my favorites! ![assembly.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQmDCretWRjFV8j4CToqy7AuspJ96J25Wrzim9WL9nq14/assembly.jpg)

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**The Guardian**
We are reaching the end of this blog... The guardian was really fun to paint. I had that concept down on the train. I wanted to make а badass, honorable, battle-tested looking warrior that could hand an army by himself. So the axe says it all.![The guardian grayscale.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT5HBVU3nDpuQ7ctyhLJcTWqURr5j7M3yCa5HYP7dmmTv/The%20guardian%20grayscale.jpg)

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**The Forgotten one 2**
This is the last one. and one of the hardest i've done. I wanted to achieve something else. Something Overpowering. The look that says- Do not get up! Total domination! It was really hard to do it. It was hard to find the right way to do it. The lighting and the rain were the final piece that gathered everything together. The traces of weapons on her body and the expression on her face is something that you can't resist. Do not get up! 
![The Forgotten one 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWRtmXjxPpMAZa4qCXV4jEuH5ffiaJ3xsdERTDD8XQSk5/The%20Forgotten%20one%202.jpg)

*The journey this year led me to strange places, showed me that we can do what we like for a living and enjoy the struggle.  I've met a lot of new friends, surrounded myself with great artists that helped me improve and grow as a person. I understood some of the important things for me, and the people around me.  Let me know what you think.
**I wish you guys and girls as twice as productive year, cause i've heard something somewhere that says- *"Double the damage, Double the fun"**


<center>**If you like my art, please follow me on:**
[facebook](https://www.facebook.com/pg/NikolayKrastevArt); [artstation](https://dirtytactic.artstation.com/); [deviantart](https://dirtytactic.deviantart.com/); [behance](https://www.behance.net/nikolay622629d89)</center>



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